Another earlier incident had occurred in Gambrills

Hours before an employee at an Ulta Beauty store in Annapolis was pepper-sprayed on Friday in a robbery, an employee at another Ulta location in Elkridge was assaulted by two women who attempted to steal items from that store, according to police.

Howard County police say a woman entered the store in the 8200 block of Gateway Overlook Drive around 12:10 p.m. Friday and tried to leave with bags of merchandise. When the store manager confronted the suspect, the woman assaulted the manager, police said. A second woman entered the store and also began to assault the manager, police said.

The women then fled without taking anything, police said, and the store manager refused medical treatment.

Anne Arundel County police reported that three hours later, at about 3:37 p.m., a woman took cosmetics from the Ulta Beauty store at the Annapolis Harbor Center and attempted to leave without paying. When an employee stopped her at the door, another woman stepped in from outside and pepper sprayed the employee, police said. The women fled with about $1,000 in merchandise, police said.

Anne Arundel police also reported an earlier robbery at an Ulta Beauty store in Gambrills last Thursday night. In that incident, three women entered the store in the 1400 block of Main Chapel Way, Gambrills, at 8:30 p.m., put items in their bags and fled in a white four-door sedan, police said.

Police said no connection has yet been made between the three incidents, but detectives have not ruled out the possibility that they are related. Arundel police are asking that any information be forwarded to Detective M. Praley at 410-222-1965.